Training Load in Competition Season: Track and Field

The outdoor season in track and field is long. The first meets arrive in early May, regional championships land in June or July, nationals follow in late summer, and some athletes still want a fast time in September. That is four to five months in which training load has to do two jobs at once: keep athletes sharp for the next weekend and keep enough fitness in the bank so the last championship is the best one.

Most coaches get the first part right and lose the second. By mid-July the sprinters are fast but fragile, the throwers have stopped lifting heavy, and the 800 m group has not done a real aerobic session in six weeks. This guide shows how to manage training load during competition season so your group arrives at the main championship fitter than they were in May, not just fresher.

Why competition season training load is different

In the preparation phase you control everything: volume, intensity, sequencing. In competition season the calendar controls a lot of it. A meet on Saturday is a maximal session you did not design, with travel, warm-up, waiting time and adrenaline on top. Treat it as a training session with a session RPE of 9 or 10, because that is what the body experiences.

Two things change as a result. First, the weekly training load drops, usually to 60 to 80 percent of a build week, because the meet replaces your hardest session and you need freshness on the day. Second, the distribution changes. Easy work gets squeezed out by travel and recovery, so what remains is mostly fast. That is exactly the recipe for the mid-season dip, which is why in-season training needs structure rather than improvisation.

The three season shapes you will meet

A meet every weekend

Common for youth and regional-level athletes from May to July. The week has one real training stimulus, usually Tuesday or Wednesday, plus the meet. Training load stays flat and moderate. Fitness holds for about six weeks, then starts to slide unless you insert a block.

Blocks of two or three meets, then a gap

The ideal structure for ambitious club athletes. Compete two or three weekends in a row, then take a two to three week block with no meets and rebuild. The weekend free of competition becomes the hardest session of the week again.

One main championship

Athletes targeting nationals or an age-group championship. Earlier meets serve as rehearsal and qualification. Training load stays higher through June, with a short taper into one or two early-season meets, then a proper build through July and a full taper into the championship.

Decide which shape each athlete is in before the season starts. A mixed training group with 20 athletes will have all three shapes in it, and the Tuesday session cannot be the same for everyone.

The meet-week template

A working week between two Saturday meets looks like this for a sprints and jumps group:

Weekly total: roughly 1,600 to 2,200 arbitrary units, compared with 2,500 to 3,200 in a build week. The important part is Tuesday. It must stay a genuine speed session at 95 to 100 percent with full recovery. Coaches who dilute Tuesday into another tempo day lose speed within three weeks.

For a middle-distance athlete racing 800 m or 1500 m on Saturday, Tuesday becomes the race-pace session (for example 5 x 300 m at 800 m pace with 3 min rest) and Thursday a short aerobic session of 25 to 35 minutes with 6 strides. Throwers keep the heavy lift on Monday or Tuesday, not Thursday, so the nervous system has 72 hours to recover.

Mid-season blocks: where fitness is rebuilt

The single most effective in-season tool is a short training block with no competition. Two weeks is enough. Three is better if the calendar allows. In that block:

• Return weekly training load to 90 to 100 percent of a spring build week.
• Bring back the session the meet schedule had pushed out: long aerobic work for the 800 m and 1500 m group, special endurance such as 3 x 250 m for sprinters, heavy lifting at 5 x 3 for throwers and jumpers.
• Keep one speed or technical session per week so the competitive sharpness does not disappear.
• Use the free Saturday for the biggest session of the week.

Plan these blocks in March, when you build the competition calendar, not in July when you notice the dip. A simple rule for Swiss and European calendars: one block after the first wave of meets in late May, one after regionals in early July, then the taper into nationals.

Peaking twice: regionals and nationals

Many athletes need to qualify at regionals and then perform at nationals five to eight weeks later. You cannot stay on the top of the peak for two months. Treat it as two short peaks with a block in between:

1. Taper for 7 to 10 days into regionals.
2. Compete, then take 3 to 4 easy days.
3. Run a 2 to 3 week rebuild block with full training load.
4. Taper again for 10 to 14 days into nationals.

The second taper is usually more effective, because the athlete is fitter going into it. Research on tapering supports this: performance gains of around 2 to 3 percent come from reducing volume while keeping intensity, and those gains require a real training load to taper from (Mujika and Padilla 2003). An athlete who has been "resting into" meets since May has nothing left to taper.

What to watch in the training diary

In competition season, trends matter more than single days. Three signals tell you whether the plan is working:

• Session RPE of the Tuesday speed session. If a sprinter rates the same 3 x 60 m session as a 5 in May and a 7 in July at the same times, fatigue is accumulating. Insert the rebuild block early or add a recovery week.
• Sleep quality around meets. Poor sleep the night before a meet is normal. Poor sleep for three or four nights after a meet is not, and it usually means travel, late finishes and emotional load are stacking up.
• Soreness or pain in the same spot. Hamstrings for sprinters and hurdlers, Achilles and shins for jumpers, lower back and shoulder for throwers. Pain that returns after every meet needs a change in the plan, not another meet.

With a shared training diary, a coach can scan 20 athletes in five minutes on Sunday evening and decide who trains fully on Tuesday and who gets a lighter version. Without it, you find out in July.

Common in-season mistakes

Racing too often. Youth athletes compete every weekend because meets are fun and parents want results. Agree on a maximum, for example 10 to 12 competitions per outdoor season for an U18 athlete, and protect two training blocks.

Dropping strength work. Throwers and jumpers lose power within four weeks when the heavy lifts stop. One heavy session per week at reduced volume (3 x 3 instead of 5 x 5) maintains strength through September.

Chasing a time at every meet. Not every meet is a peak. Label each one in the plan as a training meet, a qualification meet or a target meet, and tell the athlete which it is.

Ignoring the second half. Fitness built in winter lasts roughly six to eight weeks without reinforcement. Plan the rebuild blocks or accept that August times will be slower than June times.

How Athlog helps

Athlog was built for track and field, so the competition season is designed in, not bolted on. Coaches plan meets and training in the same calendar, and session load from both counts toward the weekly total.

• Session RPE and duration from every training session and every meet roll up into weekly training load and a 7:28 ratio per athlete.
• Daily check-ins for sleep, soreness, mood and pain sit next to the plan, so a Sunday evening review takes minutes.
• Group templates let you set the Tuesday speed session once and adjust it per athlete.
• The competition calendar shows at a glance where the next rebuild block fits.

See how clubs use it on the Athlog track and field page.

FAQ

How much should training load drop in competition season?

A typical meet week runs at 60 to 80 percent of a build week in session load. The meet itself counts as the hardest session. During a rebuild block with no competition, return to 90 to 100 percent.

How many weeks of competing before fitness drops?

Most athletes hold their fitness for five to seven weeks of weekly meets. After that, a two to three week block without competition is needed to restore the aerobic base, strength and special endurance.

Should athletes lift weights during competition season?

Yes. One heavy strength session per week at low volume, placed 72 hours before the meet, maintains strength and power. Stopping strength work entirely is one of the main reasons throwers and jumpers lose form in July.

How do I handle athletes who want to compete every weekend?

Agree on a competition count before the season, mark target meets, training meets and qualification meets in the plan, and reserve two blocks without competition. Then show the athlete how session RPE for the key session drifts up when they race too often.

This week

• Classify every meet on your calendar as training, qualification or target.
• Block out two rebuild windows of two to three weeks before July.
• Fix Tuesday as the untouchable speed or race-pace session.
• Keep one heavy lift per week for throwers and jumpers.
• Check the training diary on Sunday evening and adjust Tuesday for anyone whose session RPE is drifting.

Related guides: taper basics for meet week, a 4-week training block coaches can run and ACWR explained for coaches.